I shift my weight, ignoring the pinch in my thigh.
It is deep. Intentional. Possessive in a way that lights every nerve I have like he flipped some forbidden switch.
I gasp against his mouth.
He doesn't stop.
He kisses me like he's not performing for the crowd, but warning me.
My knees go weak. My fingers clutch his lapel. I kiss him back. I mean really kiss him back.
Somewhere behind us, people politely applaud.
I don't hear a single one.
Because all I can think is: Holy shit. What have I just done, and why does it feel like the first right thing I've ever chosen?
10
NIKOLAI
The vodka crawls bitter under my tongue, laughter echoing off the ballroom walls behind me, and somewhere in that sea of noise and cigar smoke and raised glasses, someone just yelled, "Don't break her before sunrise, Nikolai!"
Assholes.
Beside me, Elle flinches.
I lean in. "Ignore them."
One of the old guard walks up to give congratulations. Elle laughs at something he says, but it's forced and a little too bright. It cracks something in my chest to see her trying this hard when we both know she doesn't have to.
Uncle Viktor raises a toast, and the crystal in my hand catches light like it's trying to blind me from seeing what my life has become.
"To Nikolai and his beautiful bride!" Viktor booms, voicecarrying over the noise like thunder. "May your union bring strength to our family!"
Family. Right. Like this whole thing wasn't just business dressed up in white lace and bullshit traditions.
Everyone drinks. I drain mine, because I'm not drunk enough to hear what a wonderful couple we are. Have these fuckers forgotten we've known each other a total of two weeks?
Elle sips hers delicately, her throat working with each swallow. When I catch myself noticing, I look away.
Alexei, one of my uncle's more annoying captains, leans in close enough that I can count the pores on his nose. "So, Nikolai. How does it feel to be shackled?" His breath could strip paint.
"Like another Tuesday," I shrug.
He laughs too loud, slapping my shoulder hard enough to rattle bone. I imagine breaking his fingers one by one, just to pass the time.
"At least you got to sample the goods before buying," he says with a wink that makes my stomach turn. "Most of us have to wait until after the wedding."
My jaw tightens. The glass in my hand might shatter. "Watch your mouth."
"What? It's true!" Hands raised in mock surrender, grin still fixed. "You got the preview, and now you're stuck with the full subscription."
I lean in. Voice dropping to a register only he can hear. "Speak about my wife like that again, and I'll carve outyour tongue while you're still conscious enough to feel it."
His smile falters.
Good.
